The project intends to stimulate the passionate young researcher to initiate their interest in research on hoolock gibbon and their conservation.
The gibbon is an acrobatic, brachiating, bipedal and tailless primates under the family Hylobatidae that we traditionally call “lesser apes”. They are exclusively arboreal and depend on a contiguous canopy. Presently they are found in small populations in Bangladesh, northeast India, northwestern Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Bangladesh, they are di
stributed in the northeastern and southeastern region mainly in Sylhet, Chittagong, Chittagong hill tracts and Cox’s Bazar forest divisions. Among 12 species of gibbons, Western Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) (Local name: Ulluk) is the only species recognized in Bangladesh, and indeed they are critically endangered. In fact, the hoolock gibbon is ranked as one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world. The forest complexes in this area that are home to the hoolock gibbon continue to face pressure from severe habitat destruction, human encroachment and fragmentation making the species extremely vulnerable.
“Gibbon Conservation Guild” is originated to assemble extensive data on niche differentiation between hoolock gibbon and other frugivorous vertebrates and to develop an effective conservation plan for this species in Bangladesh. This project is patronized by the Rufford Foundation. The aims of the project are:
a) To evaluate the diet and feding behavior of hoolock gibbon;
b) To demonstrate the influence of plant phenology on food choice of hoolock gibbon;
c) To identify the major competitors of hoolock gibbon;
d) To enumerate the niche overlap between hoolock gibbon and other frugivorous vertebrates;
e) To elucidate the anthropogenic pressures of hoolock gibbon so that sustainable conservation plans could be recommended. The project is instigated by Sufia Akter Neha, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka with the provision of advice from Dr. Mst. Ummay Habiba Khatun, Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka and Dr. Sabir Bin Muzaffar, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates. The project is supported by Arannayk Foundation, a joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and USA.
